It was true that many athletes wanted to obtain a low body fat percentage, such as top-level sprinters, who could maintain a body that was 8% body fat. The same went for basketball players. More muscle and less fat could help increase their physical resistance.
Nevertheless, not all sports required a low body fat percentage. For example, skiers had to gain enough fat to keep themselves warm because a low body temperature would reduce cell viability, as well as make organs function slowly, which could affect their performance. Therefore, muscular men were rarely seen among skiers.
Other sports, like aquatic sports, also required athletes to have some fat. Fat could enlarge the volume of the body and increase buoyancy, meaning athletes could save effort when swimming. Water polo players were not muscular for this reason. Otherwise, before each game began, they would sink directly to the bottom of the pool.
